


Bad News

by addledwalrus



Category: Original Work
Genre: Depression, First Love, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, Historical, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Influenza, Magic Tricks, Musicians, Neighbors, Newspapers, Post-World War I, Sibling Love, Singing, Suicidal Thoughts, Telegrams, Tragedy, World War I
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 12:03:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11252787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/addledwalrus/pseuds/addledwalrus
Summary: Irving gains experience delivering newspapers and later telegrams during the Great War.





	1. Chapter 1

**July 1914**

Irving set off to begin his turn as paperboy as soon as school finished for the day. He waved goodbye to classmates while donning his flat cap and hoping that Mr Murray would give him a long awaited raise.

He took a quick peek upon receiving the afternoon's batch of newspapers to learn in surprise that some big war had supposedly begun over in Europe.

 _"I hope Ma's family will be alright..."_ He thought later as he ran past the Donovan household and remembered his mother's foreign background.

* * *

**April 1917**

Irving rushed home as soon as work was over to tell his family what he'd just learned, only to find that they already knew about the President's decision.

"Peter told me that he hopes to enlist..." His older sister Astrid whispered to him once they were in private. "I don't think things will be as certain as Pa says they'll be."

"What do you mean?"

"I overheard Ma talking with Mrs Fitzgerald. Her son wants to go too and Mrs Walters just received a new uniform..."

"You're worrying too much, Astrid." Irving attempted to reassure her despite his own misgivings. "The important thing is that we'll be unharmed, right?"

Astrid simply swallowed and turned away from her brother, knowing that there would be uproar if she were to admit to being in love with Peter and that the thought of his possible fate was torturing her inside.

* * *

**1918**

He approached the front door of the Fitzgeralds slowly and solemnly, already accustomed to the routine procedure despite his young age and the gravity of the responsibility.

Mrs Fitzgerald opened the door to stare back blankly, lips quivering as he passed the sealed envelope over and she took it without a word.

It wasn't until he was at the fence that she could be heard sobbing quietly from the grief of losing another family member.

He managed to once again shake away feelings of guilt, only to realize the very real chance he would soon be paying Peter's parents a visit and breaking his own sister's heart in the process.


	2. Chapter 2

**November 1918**

Irving stretched his arms upon waking early in the morning and silently prayed for his sister's happiness before getting ready for school.

He tried his best not to spend too much time staring at classmate Helen during class, however hard it was when she seemed to have grown twice as pretty since summer.

The miraculous news made itself known that afternoon while he passed his former place of employment and saw the large crowd gathering to celebrate the end of the War.

A pleasant epiphany dawned on him moments later and in high spirits, he raced back home to make it known to Astrid.

_"The War's over. No more telegrams... that means Peter's still alive!"_

* * *

**January 1919**

He and Astrid never thought hearing a band play Danny Boy could be so torturous as they glanced around desperately for Peter's face.

The parade drew slowly to a close however with still no sign of the young man, at which Irving glanced towards his sister just in time to see all hope vanish from her eyes.

"If he's still alive, why hasn't he come home?!" She suddenly cried in rage and despair, turning to grab her brother violently by the shoulders until their mother intervened and separated the two.

Irving swallowed in fear and could only stare helplessly as both parents tried with little avail to calm her down, unaware of just how deeply she'd been hurt.


	3. Chapter 3

**December 1919**

Astrid sat weakly in her chair at the O'Donnells' while everybody else made an effort to enjoy the fact that it was Christmas.

She'd fallen gravely ill from the flu shortly after Peter's failure to return and despite the doctor's own fears that she would die, fate had proved cruel enough to drag her back amongst the living one humid day.

Irving was the first to notice her gloomy demeanor as always and he soon thought of something that would hopefully raise her spirits.

Remembering a magic trick that Mr Murray had once shown him, he crossed the room to borrow a nickel from Mr Walters before trudging to his sister's side.

"May I show you something, Astrid? It won't take long at all..."

He slipped the coin between two fingers despite her weary sigh and with a swift flick of the wrist, made it seemingly disappear into thin air.

Astrid's eyes widened in surprise and feeling rather proud, Irving then reached behind his sister's ear to reproduce the coin, an act that finally succeeded in bringing a slight smile to her face.

"See, you have some magic in you too." He said brightly, before giving a little bow and going off to return Mr Walter's nickel.

Ernest O'Donnell fetched his violin later in the evening to accompany sibling Muriel on the piano as they performed a popular song that most recognized.

"I didn't know they could play so well." Irving remarked in admiration while glancing expectantly towards where Astrid was still seated.

"That's because they're more Irish than the rest of us..." She replied drily, leaving him confused as to whether she was trying to be humorous or simply back to her previous gloomy state.

His attention was stolen once again when Evelyn Fitzgerald stood up to sing along in her pleasant voice, to which others quickly chimed in until the whole room was in song.

It was only when Irving stopped to regain his breath that he realized that Astrid had also joined in, something that gave him much hope for her eventual recovery.


End file.
